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Common variable star 21 EP

HD 64344

RA 117.7949° · Dec -48.6143° · star

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Score breakdown

· 5 badges
21 pts · Common
Common 22 pts → Uncommon
  • Giant star +6
  • Variable star +5
  • Gently variable +4
  • Orange K-type star +3
  • A named variable star +3
Total score 21

1 more point to reach Uncommon.

Badges

  • Variable star · +5
  • Orange K-type star · +3
  • Giant star · +6
  • Gently variable · +4
  • A named variable star · +3

Trivia

What it actually is

  • Spectral class. Its spectrum reads K1/K2III: — a K-type star. Orange K dwarfs are the marathon runners of the galaxy, burning steadily for tens of billions of years.
  • It changes. This star does not hold still: its brightness rises and falls on a rhythm of hours, days or years, either pulsing in size or being eclipsed by a companion.

Sense of scale

  • In perspective. Far away by human standards, yet still a local address inside the Milky Way's spiral arms.

Find it in the sky

  • How to spot it. At magnitude 9.3 you'll want a small backyard telescope, over in Puppis.
  • Southern sky. It rides the southern half of the sky — an easier target the further south you are.
  • Best time of year. It stands highest in the middle of the night around January — that's when to go looking.

Could we get there?

  • Verdict. Hopelessly far for any craft humanity can build today.

Getting there

  • Aboard Voyager 1. ≈ 17 million years at Voyager 1's speed (17 km/s).

Properties

absmag
1.995
bv
1.259
constellation
Pup
dist ly
964.9586
luminosity
13.8676
mag
9.35
name
HD 64344
spect
K1/K2III:
var amplitude
0.28
var designation
V401
var max
9.306
var min
9.586

About HD 64344

HD 64344 is a common variable star. It lies about 965 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Pup, shines at apparent magnitude 9.35 and has spectral type K1/K2III:.

Its spectrum reads K1/K2III: — a K-type star. Orange K dwarfs are the marathon runners of the galaxy, burning steadily for tens of billions of years.

How to see it

Look for HD 64344 in the constellation Pup. At apparent magnitude 9.35, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.

Like any astronomical target, HD 64344 is best seen from a dark site away from city lights, and when it is above the horizon depends on your latitude and the time of year. The visibility panel above works out tonight's viewing window for your saved location.

Why HD 64344 is a common variable star

HD 64344 scores 21 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the common tier. Another 1 point would lift it into a rarer tier.

That score comes from 5 science badges — Variable star, Orange K-type star, Giant star, Gently variable and A named variable star — each earned for a real, measurable property of the object. Rarity on Spacedle is never random: the more remarkable an object's astrophysics, the more badges it collects, the higher it scores, and the rarer it ranks.